Bearing



BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.2, 1919.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.,

2 m Q om t m E IlIIII Q. III Al/Im. IHIw/Vw INIII w J m Lo Q earnereuries.

MAURICE F. GEER, 0F IRONDEQUOIT, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL MILWA'YSIGNAL GOMPIANY, OFQROOHESTER, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATION OFNEW YORK.

BEARING.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE F. GEEK, a citizen of the United States, andresident ofthe town of Irondequoit, in the county of Monroe and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bearings, ofwhich the following iS a specification.

This invention relates lto a guard or protecting device for preventingoil leakage from high speed shaft bearings.

In one type of machine, specifically a power driven clothes washingmachine, for which my invention is particularly adapted, a high speedshaft passes into a casing or housing enclosing the operating parts ofthe machine and containing a heavy gear oil or similar lubricant forthese parts. In such a construction there is diiiiculty -in preventingoil leakage from the bearingl of this shaft, there being a considerablehead of oil upon the bearing. It is foundvthat an ordinary stufiing boxconstruction will not prevent oil leakage from such bearingsWithoutbeing so tight as to produce excessive friction and wear on theshaft, and will not stand up in service without adjustment.

In accordance with my invention, I provide, as a substitute for theordinary stuffing box, or as an additional protection to be used inconnectionv therewith, a pumplike device which opposes the pressure ofoil upon the bearing and prevents it leaking out, while at the same timethe bearing is freely lubricated. i l

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be made to theaccompanying drawings,'in which like reference characters designate thecorresponding parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is afragmentary view of a washing machine and operating mechanism therefor,to which I have illustrated my present invention applied, and

y Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 2 2 in Fig.1, and shows the construction of one embodiment of my invention. e

For the purpose of illustrating and explaining the construction andfunctions of my invention I have shown it applied to a `clothes washingmachine, but it should be understood that the invention may be used inconnection with other machines under similar conditions by makingappropriate Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Jam, 3, 11922.,Application led December 27, 1919.` Serial No. 3427,684.

changes in mechanical details. This wash' .well known way. Theload-shaft4 is driven by a pinion 6 which meshes with a gear sector 7journaled on a suitable fixed bearing stud 8. The gear sector 7 isoscillated by apitman or connecting rod 9, which is pivotally connectedat one end to an arm of said gear sector, and is journaled at its otherend on an eccentric pin 10 in a worm gear 11. The worm gear 11 is drivenby an intermediate worm 12 fastened on a vertical drive shaft 13supported in bearings 14.. To the lower end of the drive shaft 13 ispinned a worm gear 15 which is driven by a high speed worm 16 on a wormshaft 17 which 1s driven by a suitable electric motor M. These parts aresupported and enclosed in a unitary casing or housing S fastened bybolts 18 to the legs 1. This casing S is provided with a gearcompartment C having a detachable bottom plate 19 (for the purpose offa-v able plug 21, and a thrust ball bearing 22 is interposed betweenthis plug and a s acing sleeve 23 pinned to the shaft 17. he

worm -16 is keyed to the shaft 17. The inner bearing for t e worm shaft17 comprises a sleeve 24 having an enlarged annular portion 25constituting what is conveniently termed a pump casing. Between thebearing sleeve 24 and the worm 1G is a, sleeve 26 pinned to theshaft 17y and provided with a double fm or rid e 27 spirally wound andconstitutingin e ect the teeth of a duplex worm, these teeth beingpitched opposite to the teeth of the worm 16 and fitting closely insideof the so-called pump casing 25. In the bearing sleeve 24 is an oil hole28 communicating with the main portion of the ear compartment C throughachannel 29. utside of the bearing sleeve 24 I have shown a stufing boxof well known construction, comprising packing rings 30, a gland nut 31,and a lock 'nut 32.

In the type of construction above described, it will be evident that theinner bearing of the high speed worm shaft 17 is subjected to aconsiderable head of oil, and where a light body lubricant is used,diiiiculty has been found in obtaining a suitable stuliin boxconstruction which will prevent oil lea age out of this bearing. Inmachines of this character leakage of oil is highly objectionable.Moreover, such machines do not ordinarily receive in service the careand attention required t0 make a stuiiing box effective.

According to my invention leakage of Oil out of the inner bearingfor thehigh speed worm shaft 17 is prevented byopposing the oil pressure Whilesaid shaft is rotating, due to the pui'iipr action of the ridge .27 inthe casing 25. he direction of rotation of the shaft 17 is indicated byarrow a in Fig. 2, and the ridge 27 is spirally wound so as to draw oilthrough passage 29 and hole 28 through the bearing sleeve 24, therebyproviding free circulation of oil around this bearing and maintaining iteifectively lubricated. This pumpin action kee s the oil from workingout of t e bearing, t e passage 29 being made smaller than the dischargecapacity of the ridge 27 acting7 as a ump at the normal running speed.hen t e shaft 17 stops, this pumping action, of course, also ceases, butwith the parts stationary, the oil does not leak out appreciably. Whenthe shaft 17 is stationary the oil readily works around the ridge 27 andprimes the pump, so to speak. The stuing box construction illustratedmerely constitutes an additional protection against oil leakage,principally to prevent any gradual escape of oil while the shaft 17 isstationary, and when the parts are somewhat worn or improperly fitted;and in practice, this stufiing omitted, if desired. y

Obviously, various modifications and adaptations may be made in theparticular construction shown and described without departing from itsfunctions and principles ox may be of operation and I desire to have itunderstood that this construction is merely one illustrative embodimentof my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to` secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. A leak-proof bearing structure for the high speed worm shafts of wormgearin which is enclosed in a housing lled witg lubricant, comprising astationary bearing sleeve for the worm shaft, said sleeve being formedwith a cylindrical open-ended casing at the inner'end, and meansconstituting a' spirally wound ridge rotating with the shaft and fittingclosely within said casing, said ridge being pitched opposite to theworm on said shaft and acting while the shaft rotates to force lubricantinward from the bearing sleeve. v

2. A bearing structure for high speed shafts adapted to prevent leakageof lubricant, comprising a stationary bearing sleeve in which the shaftrotates, said sleeve bein formed at its inner end with a cylindricacasin having an open end, a collar fixed to the wound ridge fittingclosel within said casing, said ridge being pitc ed and coperating withsaid casing while the shaft is rotating at high speed to force lubricantinwardly from the bearing sleeve.

`3. A bearing structure for high speed shafts comprising, in combinationwith a bearing sleeve, a cylindrical casing at the inner end of saidsleeve, a lspirally wound ridge within the casing, and rotating wit-l1the shaft, and means permitting circulation of oil from one end of thecasing to the other through the bearing sleeve.

4. A device for preventing vleakage of lubricant out of the bearings ofhi h speed shafts projecting from housings fi ed with lubricant,comprising an open-ended cylindrical casing and a du lex worm driven bythe shaft and fitting tightlyl in the casing, said worm and casingconstituting apump to force lubricant inward from the shaft bearing.

5. A device of the character described comprisin in combination with ahigh speed shal t and a bearing sleeve therefor, means driven by theshaft for forcin oil in one direction between the shaft and s eeve.

, MAURICE F. GEER.

aft and provided with a spirally.

